The New Flower of Astraea Hill
by ChrisMA222
Summary: The schools of Astraea Hill are all in excitement with the competition for Étoile coming up with spring classes going on at the same time. Many girls focusing on these two things don't realize the coming of a new student named Kurokami (黒髪) Nakamura. Though, she does catch the eye of a fellow student, her roommate. Two OC's, has appearances of some of the original characters.
1. The New Shy Flower

**Chapter #1 - The New Shy Flower**

The spring days of the tri-schools St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulim, are filled with excitement and activity. These days are filled with girls from all three schools awaiting the start of the new Étoile selection, where a couple shall be chosen with honor, gratitude, and praise. Most of the girls had no other focus for anything else but the selection, as it has created such passion to have a new couple represent not one, but all of the three schools together. Their excitement has driven the attention away from noticing a new face arriving at the Strawberry Dorms. A girl named Kurokami Nakamura from northern Japan, was the new girl that has been transferred to St. Miator. Kurokami is an average height, skinny girl with small features, pale skin, black flowing hair that is accounted with dark, navy blue eyes that almost twinkle like a star in a clear night sky. She is a pretty shy girl, as she is one that keeps many thoughts to herself and only making a few friends from her previous home. Kurokami is on her way through the paths of Astrea Hill, on her way to the St. Miator area to meet with one of the student council members. As she is walking slowly along, she looks around to see the many girls from either of the three schools, talking about spring and how they are able to spend time outside with friends, but also their lovers. Needless to say, love is in the air in the tri-school areas.

'_My my, lots of feelings in the air I see._' thinks Kurokami to herself. '_I have a feeling that I might like it here._'

Saying this in her mind made Kurokami giggle, but not loudly, for Kurokami is especially shy around other groups. She then hears a few groups of girls speak about the Étoile competition, how the excitement of such an event is building up all around.

'_Étoile competition?_' Kurokami ponders. '_I wonder what this is all about? I will probably find out later._' After walking more, she arrives at the doors of St. Miator, where she hears more talking inside. As Kurokami enters the main entrance, a bell rings, indicating the being of scheduled classes for the schools. Hearing this bell has made many student start to walk to their few classes or just walking with the ones they know to their clubs and or activities. While the girls were mostly clearing out of the main hall, Kurokami walks up a flight of stairs to the student council meeting room, where she stops in front of the doors of the room. The black haired girl sighs and then knocks on the door. A few seconds pass by when the doors were opened by Miyuki Rokujo.

"Ah you must be the transfer student, Kurokami Nakamura." says Miyuki to the shy girl in front of her. "Welcome to St. Miator, one of the three schools of Astraea Hill."

Kurokami bows in greeting towards Miyuki and replies back saying,

"Thank you Ms..?"

"Miyuki, Miyuki-sama. I am the student council president of St. Miator." says Miyuki. "I was just doing some paper work, but since you are here early, I can give you a tour of St. Miator and its dorms."

"It's really okay to have a tour when classes and clubs are in session?" asks Kurokami nervously.

"Yes it is. Since you are a new student, you will be able to see your dorm room and know where your classrooms will be." explains Miyuki. "Speaking of yourself, I have your fitted uniform in the office here so you can change into it quickly.

"Oh thank you Miyuki-sama. I guess I will change quick." says Kurokami.

Miyuki nods and replies back to her saying, "The blinds are closed already and I will stand here in front of the doors."

Kurokami then enters the student council office and closes the door behind her. Only a lamp was on, where Miyuki's papers were on the long table. Kurokami is confused by why Miyuki was working in the dark, how could she with the blind closed on a beautiful spring day. After pondering this, Kurokami finds a box next to the pile of papers next to the lamp. She then walks over and opens the box that contains her St. Miator uniform.

"This is so nice!" says Kurokami as she lifts the uniform up in the light. She has the look of awe at the uniform, how beautiful she imagines herself wearing it. Kurokami dresses into her uniform for a bit of time and then marvels once more at the black dress that matches her dark hair and blue eyes. Then a knock was heard from the double doors, indicating that Miyuki was still waiting for Kurokami to start the tour. She then quickly puts her outfit she had on today and puts it in the uniform box, rushing to the doors. As she opens one of the doors, Kurokami quickly bows and says,

"I'm sorry Miyuki-sama, I was just enthralled by the dress and did not realize the time."

"It's okay Kurokami-chan." says Miyuki. "Just wanted to start your tour as soon as possible before tomorrow. Nice to see that your uniform fits perfectly."

Kurokami then realizes that the size of her St. Miator uniform does in fact fit herself very nicely. She then had an intriguing question to ask, saying,

"Wait, St. Miator got my uniform this fast? Even though I sent in my measurements just a few days before?"

Miyuki responds back to Kurokami saying, "Why yes, all three of the schools here have many sizes of uniforms ready for any new girls coming to Astrea Hill. Plus, having uniforms ready is good for the newcomers to start right away with no waiting."

"Ah I see." replies Kurokami, understanding how the process is handled for St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulim.

"So, shall I give you the tour of your dorm room first?" asks Miyuki, wanting to get a lot in for Kurokami for the tour.

"Of course, that would be nice." says Kurokami, eager to know what the room will look like. Both girls then walk down a few hallways to where St. Miator's dorm rooms were located. As they walked, Kurokami was having her head faced down towards the floor, but wandering the halls of the amazing school building she will be living in. An all girls academy, that was something that she was excited to be in. Even though she is shy with mostly anyone, she is glad to be surrounded by others that can understand somethings like she does. A few moments pass by when Miyuki and Kurokami arrive at one of the many doors of the dorms.

"This is where you will be staying in Kurokami-chan." exclaims Miyuki as she opens the door.

Kurokami peeks into the room and is awed by the vast amount of space she will have. She does notice that there are two beds in the room, but then remembers that she will be sharing a room with another girl.

'_Oh yeah, I should've remembered earlier that I have a roommate._' Kurokami thinks to herself. "_I wonder who my roommate will be?_'

Before she can ask Miyuki who she is with in the dorm room, Miyuki says to her,

"Come now, I should show you one of the classes you will be attending, literature."

As they started to walk, Kurokami thinks to herself once again saying,

'_I guess I will find out for myself later.._'

She feels like it will be awkward to find out about her roommate and not know her name beforehand. Kurokami knows she is a shy girl and so she does not want to make anything more uneasy for herself transferring to St. Miator. Once a few minutes passes by, Miyuki and Kurokami arrive at the literature class. Miyuki knocks on the door slowly, not wanting to interrupting the class, even though the sound of conversations meant that there was no lecture currently. A few moments pass and the class door slides open, where the St. Miator literature teacher stands.

"I am terribly sorry for interrupting your class." Miyuki says as she bows in respect.

"No trouble at all Ms. Miyuki." says the teacher smiling. "There is no lesson being taught right now, and I have been expecting you and the new transfer girl. Kurokami Nakamura?"

Hearing their teacher say transfer girl made everyone in the literature class surprised. They were so busy with other things like the Étoile events that they did not really pay attention to the news of a new student at St. Miator. Most of the class looks towards the entrance to see this new face of their school, where Kurokami steps forward and bows in greeting to the teacher. She is nervous that she is in front of a whole class that is looking straight at her. As she was bowing, the literature teacher introduces Kurokami to the class saying,

"This lovely new girl is name Kurokami Nakamura. She is a fourth year transfer student from up north and will be joining our class soon. Help and treat her respectively."

As soon as this is said, Kurokami bows towards the class and says in a shy tone of voice,

"P-please take care of me."

As Kurokami was introduced and greeted by the class, there is one girls in the back of the room, who kept looking at the mysterious, dark haired girl. This girl in the back of the room was named Misaki Matsumato, a girl with dark brown hair that is long past her shoulders. She is about the same height as Kurokami and also small in form factor of waist size but with a slight more tone body type. Misaki has light green eyes that are very noticeable from her hair, like Kurokami's blue eyes and black hair. She is a girl who barely notices when she is almost embarrassing herself in front of others when she is clumsy, though she did like to tease others before. She has been attending St. Miator since being a first year and now is a fourth year, and during that time hasn't really had a roommate.

'_So she is the girl that I have heard about that will be sharing my room with me. She seems like a nice girl, and she's cute..I must dearly say._' Misaki thinks this in her mind, to which she also blushes just a little thinking about how pretty Kurokami is to her. How her dark hair really brings out the sparkle of her blue eyes, two different colors just dancing together in Misaki's eyes. As Misaki's eyes were in a state of trance of Kurokami's looks, she does not realize that Kurokami was looking back towards the end of the room where she was sitting. Once Misaki notices, she covers her face with her hands and puts her face down on the book on her desk. Needless to say, Misaki was sometimes clumsy in the sense that she won't realize some things that are happening, which is a cute factor added to herself. As Misaki was facing down on her desk, Kurokami watched the dark brown haired girl hiding her blushing face. She giggles to herself saying in her mind,

'_I wonder who she is? She seems to be a nice, funny girl._'

Once after thinking this, Miyuki taps her on the shoulder saying, "Kurokami-chan, we must be leaving, as class is technically still in session."

Kurokami turns around quickly, realizing she was almost lost in thought in front of the class. She then says to Miyuki,

"I'm terribly sorry Miyuki-sama.."

After apologizing, both her and Miyuki walk out of the classroom, with Misaki looking once again at her new roommate.

Miyuki then takes Kurokami through the rest of St. Miator, showing her the different classes that are available to be taken. She also shows her the vast amount of clubs and activities that are available to join at either one of the three schools. As the tour continued, Kurokami feels like she does not want to join any clubs, as she is shy and to herself might not add anything to the clubs at all. Also, she feels like she won't make any friends and be alone in the many groups of girls.

'_I do like to be alone..but I do want to have someone like a friend to at least talk to._' thinks Kurokami to herself.

After another two hours of touring St. Miator, the areas around the schools, and explaining more about the layout, Miyuki takes Kurokami back to her dorm room before classes have ended. As they approached the door, Kurokami says to Miyuki,

"Th-thank you for helping me get to know where to go to the classes and know more about St. Miator."

"No trouble at all Kurokami-chan." replies Miyuki. "That's one of the tasks of being in the student council, to help my fellow classmates."

Kurokami smiles as she hears this, knowing that she has the student council president to go to for any help.

"By the way, since classes are almost finished, your roommate will probably be back here soon. So be expecting her at any time." says Miyuki suddenly.

Kurokami realizes that she has not even asked for her roommate's name all day, thinking that she wouldn't be able to. So she asks Miyuki,

"Miyuki-sama, I do not know her name. Could you tell me who she is?"

"Ah of course, your fellow roommate's name is Misaki Matsumato." says Miyuki. "She was in the literature class from earlier."

Hearing that Misaki was in her literature class made Kurokami remember the girl in the back of the room looking at her and then putting head down on the desk.

'_Is it her that I saw?_' thinks Kurokami to herself. '_Maybe that is why she was looking at me so intently._'

Once Kurokami thanked Miyuki for the tour and saying goodbye to each other, she enters her room and quickly closes the door behind her. She takes a deep breath and looks around the room she will be staying.

"The rooms are so spacious." says Kurokami in amazement. "There's even a bathroom!"

She then walks around the room, examining the two beds and personal desks at the end of the beds. She is glad that it is so quiet, how she can relax so easily to herself and think clearly about how amazing St. Miator is to her; how it has so much for girls to offer and explore. As Kurokami takes in the quietness she is experiencing, a chapel bell rings in the distance, indicating the end of classes for the tri-schools of Astraea Hill. This made her almost jump in startlement, as she is reminded once again that her possibly known roommate will be entering at any moment. Kurokami then decides to sit on the bed that was hers, deciding to herself that standing up would be awkward when Misaki enters. A few minutes pass by and she then hears footsteps outside of the door, where girls were walking to and from their own rooms. As Kurokami is waiting for the door of her dorm room to open, she hears the knob turning. She holds her breath in anticipation, waiting to see who her roommate was. Then, she see Misaki in the doorway, looking right back at her. Both green and blue eyes meet, looking like they were before in the literature classroom.

"Uh..I'm sorry for n-not greeting you properly before you entered!" says Kurokami as she quickly stands up and bows. "I'm Kurokami Nakamura, fourth year student from northern Japan."

Misaki is startled by the sudden reaction of introduction and says to Kurokami,

"You do not have to say sorry!" Misaki then bows and continues speaking saying, "I'm Misaki Matsumato, fourth year student also, and I'm from eastern Japan. Pleased to meet you!"

As Misaki says this, she blushes from remembering earlier when she looked at Kurkami in her class; how pretty she thought Kurokami was with her blue eyes being so noticeable from her dark, black hair. Once Kurokami and Misaki stopped bowing towards each other in respect, they both look at each other once again. Misaki smiles and says to Kurokami,

"So, you are my roommate that I was told to be sharing this room with. I must say you were quite cute when you were introducing yourself to our literature class."

Misaki winks in a teasing way, trying to have fun with Kurokami. This makes Kurokami blush, not expecting a compliment nor a teasing reaction from Misaki. Misaki notices this and says to Kurokami,

"I am sorry if I made you blush in embarrassment."

"Not at all, I am not blushing in embarrassment. Just at the little compliment you gave me." says Kurokami in a nervous tone of voice.

"Oh, well have you ever gotten a compliment at how pretty you are, Kurokami-chan?"

Kurokami shakes her head from side to side and says quietly,

"Not really, mostly because I don't have a lot of friends..even from where I came from."

Kurokami looks down at the floor as she remembers herself not making a lot of friends before. Since she is usually very quiet and shy, Kurokami wasn't able to make a big group of friends, not experiencing the feeling of a group of similar interests as herself. As she was thinking about the times before where she lived up north, Misaki walks over to the quiet girl and puts a hand on one of Kurokami's shoulders and says to her,

"Even though we have just met, I can be a friend of yours Kurokami-chan!"

Kurokami could not believe what she has just heard. Meeting with her roommate and already becoming acquainted with each other in a matter of minutes is not the only thing to shock Kurokami. Her roommate, Misaki is now wanting to be her friend, something Kurokami thought she would not have for a while in her first year at St. Miator. Overcoming the sense of rushing feelings, Kurokami looks at Misaki, who was smiling with her hand on her shoulder still.

"Um..sure, of course we can be friends Misaki-chan." says Kurokami to Misaki.

Hearing this made Misaki hug Kurokami, happy to hear that her first roommate at St. Miator will be friends with her already. A roommate who will be her friend also has made Misaki feel so ecstatic to know this. As Kurokami was hugged by Misaki, she is now blushing more than before. Hugs were almost rare fro Kurokami, like her being quiet with her friends from before. After a few seconds, she hugs back Misaki, as she is warm in her arms. Being warm in Misaki's was like the sun now shining in their room during sunset, indication the end of a long first day for the quiet, shy flower.

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Author Note: Thank you very much for reading chapter 1 of my second Fan Fiction story! Random fact, I used Kurokami as the first OC's name because it means "dark hair", which the character has. Anyway, please feel free to review and give feedback that can help with publishing future chapters as needed! =)


	2. Closer as Friends, Or?

Quick Note: This chapter is pretty short compared to the first one, but I did want to write a little in between chapter for the night before the next day for Kurokami and Misaki. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy! =)

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**Chapter #2 - Closer As Friends, Or?**

The first night at St. Miator for Kurokami has been quiet and full of thoughts. How so much has happened when she arrived at the serene sight of Astraea Hill; the tour Miyuki gave that helped her tremendously with getting to know more about St. Miator, and then finally meeting the girl she will be sharing her dorm room with. Misaki staring at Kurokami like they did in the literature class struck Kurokami in a surprised reaction. She questioned if she would know that girl more, or if she possible was her roommate, to which she would be correct. Then meeting each other face to face and getting to know each other in a short period of time, how fast that went. This fast pace of meeting each other led them to being friends already because of Kurokami telling Misaki about not having many friends before, which made Misaki feel almost sad for the quiet girl. So then, just like that, roommates now friends that understood each other only just a little. All of this is what Kurokami is thinking in the late night after the long, surprised filled day. She cannot help but think about her first day here at St. Miator or with will that has happened, and so she is laying her bed wide awake. Kurokami looks over to where Misaki was sleeping, seeing her facing the other way in the moonlight towards the wall.

"I think she is sleeping.." says Kurokami quietly. "I would want to talk to her, but I do not want to wake her up."

Kurokami feels like she wants to say thank you to Misaki for being so nice to her and giving her compliments about how pretty she is, never being told as much before. As Kurokami lets out a sigh of breath, she hears Misaki roll on her other side in her bed. Kurokami then looks back over to Misaki, who is now actually staring right back at her.

"Can't sleep Kurokami-chan? asks Misaki suddenly.

Kurokami was startled by the ever said question asked by Misaki and then puts her blanket over her head in embarrassment. Misaki giggles at the sight of Kurokami being caught looking at her, thinking how cute she is with her reactions. After a few moments have passed, Kurokami peeks her head out of her blankets and says to Misaki,

"I'm sorry for staring at you like that Misaki-chan, it was probably weird of me huh?"

Misaki shakes her head, replying back to Kurokami,

"Not at all! To be honest, you looked cute just peeking towards me." She then giggles while Kurokami was blushing. "So, why can you not sleep? Is something wrong?" asks Misaki concerningly.

Kurokami takes a few moments to ponder on what she was going to say back to Misaki, wondering if she should say nothing or just the truth about what she really was thinking about earlier. She takes a deep breath, and replies to Misaki saying,

"Well, what I've been thinking about..is how so much has happened yesterday when I arrived here. The long tour Miyuki-sama gave me and then..meeting you. How you noticed me while others have not expected me, I thought I would be alone for a while being here. Now you and I are friends suddenly, how fast in time that I have made a friend so quickly. What is even better about that fact is that you are my roommate, which helps in many ways tremendously actually. Though, there is one other thing that I have been thinking about, and that is..is the compliment you gave me earlier on how pretty I was. It was very sweet of you to say and I feel happy hearing that."

Misaki is now very happy to hear that she has helped Kurokami, even though that they only have met just yesterday.

"I am thrilled to hear that Kurokami-chan." says Misaki as she smiles. She continues to speak saying, "For a few times in the night, I did think that I was so sudden with asking you if I could be your friend. Though since you accepted, I was so delighted to hear that because of you telling me about only having a few friends. Plus, I kind of wanted to be friends with you because of the fact that you are a pretty, cute girl!"

Kurokami's face lights up like a star in the night sky while also warming up ever so much, and so she covers her face with her blanket once again. Misaki giggles again at the second sight of Kurokami doing this, but now she almost laughs out loud. As Misaki stops giggling, she starts to ask Kurokami a question,

"Kurokami-chan, are you..very shy?"

Once asking this, Kurokami nods her head up and down in response as they looked at each other in the bright moonlight shining in their room. Misaki smiles and says to Kurokami,

"Well I am kind of the opposite, more open I guess. But even then, I can be shy like you in some certain instances, believe it or not."

Kurokami then intently looks back at Misaki, wanting to hear about how she is shy like herself sometimes. Misaki continues speaking,

"An example is like earlier in literature, when you came and introduced yourself. As I was thinking about how cute you were, I blushed so much and so l lowered my head to the desk, embarrassed and shy for a short moment of time.."

Kurokami remembers Misaki having her head down, how she wondered why that girl lowered her head after looking at her. She then laughs to herself, trying to not have Misaki hear her. Though Misaki does hear Kurokami's chuckles very subtly, so she asks her in a questioning tone of voice,

"What is so funny, huh?"

Kurokami stops laughing and says back to Misaki, "I just remembered that when you had your head facing down, I was thinking about how interesting you were before I met you later one. I have to say, you still are quite interesting."

Misaki then laughs a little, trying to say back,

"Well you are quite as interesting as me Kurokami-chan!"

Then both girls start to laugh in their beds, also trying to stay quiet as much as possible, not wanting to be too loud. As they slowly stopped laughing, light steps of footsteps were heard outside of their room door. Kurokami and Misaki remained silent, trying to hear the ever so low sound of walking footsteps. Those footsteps were from Yaya, Hikari, Tsubomi, and Chiyo walking to Tamao and Nagisa's room to have their secret tea party in the middle of the night.

"I wonder who would be walking at this late in the night?" asks Kurokami concerningly.

"They are probably having fun sneaking around and trying to not get caught from the head sister of St. Miator." replies Misaki. "Some girls like to have special meetings with either their friends from St. Spica and St. Lulim, or their special someone. It's pretty romantic if I do say so myself."

"Secret meetings?" questions Kurokami. "What do you mean by secr..oh my!"

Kurokami's face feels warm when she thinks about some of the special meetings some girls might have, and not the meetings with friends. Misaki almost laughs again, but she covers her mouth with her hands so she would not laugh like before. After calming down, Misaki takes a deep breath before speaking again,

"Your expressions are so cute and random, Kurokami-chan!"

Kurokami looks over to Misaki and sticks her tongue out, having fun with what Misaki said. Misaki giggles once more, but then she yawns for a bit and stretches out her arms.

"I am quite tired now Kurokami-chan." says Misaki as she yawns again.

"I bet Misaki-chan." replies Kurokami. "But before you go to bed, I have to say..thank you once again for talking to me. I feel much better than earlier because of what I said to you and what I was thinking about. I have a feeling that my time here at St. Miator will be well because I have a friend I can talk to."

Saying all this really has Kurokami feel so relieved, with what was on her mind and telling someone else about what she was thinking is something she did not do before when she lived in northern Japan. As Kurokami was feeling much better about the night, Misaki feels like she has done something for her new, but still farouche friend. Hearing Kurokami say that she feel better telling her what was on her mind has made Misaki feel like it was an accomplishment as a friend to another, for she does help other at St. Miator as well. After a minute of silence, Misaki says to Kurokami,

"I am glad to listen. If you need to say anything or need any help, just let me know Kurokami-chan."

"Kurokami looks over to the smiling Misaki and says back to her,

"I shall keep that in mind. Thank you again Misaki-chan for listening."

Misaki nods in response, but then she gets out of her bed and walks over to Kurokami's bed. She bends down and giver Kurokami a hug.

"You are very welcome Kurokami-chan. Even though this is sudden, I will always be here to help you."

Kurokami blushes once more from the loving hug she is receiving, but also with how warm Misaki feels. It is like her hug is warmer than her own blanket that she has been laying under, how the hug also warms up her mind so much in such a serene feeling and loving moment.

"You are pretty chilly Kurokami-chan! If you need to have me as a second 'blanket', ask whenever you want." says Misaki in a very teasing tone of voice, also winking at Kurokami.

"You just love to tease, don't you Misaki-chan?" asks Kurokami nervously, for she was still blushing from the hug.

As Misaki was walking and climbing into her bed, she replies back saying,

"Hmm, you could say that. I do tease, especially if it is with such a cute friend of mine. Maybe I tease you more for some certain reasons?"

This makes Kurokami cover herself with her blanket once again, embarrassed by how Misaki teased her. She stays under the blanket as Misaki says to her giggling,

"Well goodnight Kurokami-chan. I hope you sleep well now and I will see you in the morning!"

Kurokami then replies back to Misaki saying quietly,

"Goodnight Misaki-chan."

After a few minutes have passed, Kurokami hears the quiet breathing of Misaki sleeping silently, how peaceful she sounded.

'_I..I am so glad to meet Misaki-chan._' thinks Kurokami. '_I do not care if we have just became friends in a matter of minutes of meeting, I am just so relieved to have a friend here at St. Miator..I am so blessed._'

Kurokami takes a deep breath and smiles, feeling overwhelmed with happiness and comfort in the fact that she has such a caring new friend now. She feels like a friend that is her roommate will help tremendously, for she can have a lot of time to speak with Misaki if she ever needs to. Kurokami also thinks about how Misaki teases her so much and that she keeps saying how cute she is, how she has not gotten this many compliments from anyone, from one person.

'_She sure does like to say I'm cute and tease me with saying that. It's funny and very nice, but does she say this to only play around..or something else with what she feels?_'

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Author Note: Thank you very much for reading chapter 2 of my second Fan Fiction story! Please feel free to review and give feedback that can help with publishing future chapters as needed! =)


	3. Questioning of Friends Flourish

**Chapter #3 - Questioning of Friends and Confusion Flourish**

The sound of singing birds during the early sun rise marks the beginning of a new day for the tri-schools of Astraea Hill. Already in this early time, girls were getting ready for the day, prepared to take it on with readiness. Though, Kurokami has been up almost all night thinking and speaking with her new friend, Misaki. Kurokami is so tired from the previous night that she can barely keep her eyes open, trying so much to get up and prepare for the day. All the thinking and questionable thoughts that were going through her mind last night has led her to be this tires with no energy to spare, not wanting to get up and out of the cozy warm bed she lays on. Laying on her bed reminds her of the time when she was speaking to Misaki the previous night, telling her about what she was thinking. Not just what she was thinking about, but also how she felt about having a friend in such a short amount of time and how that made herself feel so happy. Kurokami was very happy to know that she has someone to talk to about almost anything on her mind, quite the opposite from when she lived in the northern parts of Japan. Though besides all of this, she also was thinking about how Misaki keeps calling her cute and beautiful, two things that she has not been told much before. Kurkami wonders if friends, even good close friends, say this much to each other in such a casual way.

'_Do girls really tell each other they are beautiful and cute this much?_' ponders Kurokami in her mind. '_I do feel happy when Misaki-chan says either of these compliments to me, but is she saying those comments as a friend? Or maybe.._'

Just then, Kurokami remembers the hug Misaki gave her before she went to bed and how warm it felt to herself. The hug was so sweetly unexpected that Kurokami was just frozen in warmth, wondering about what she should do besides just hugging back.

'_Should I have also complimented Misaki-chan back?_' Kurokami questions in her mind. '_Misaki-chan is a sweet friend that I also think is beautiful, with her green eyes and dark brown hair that looks so nice together.._'

As Kurokami thinks this, she feels like she is being shaken in her bed suddenly.

"Wake up dear Kurokami-chan!" says Misaki as she tries to playfully shake Kurokami in her bed covers.

Kurokami almost starts to laugh from the way Misaki was shaking her and how she was also giggling doing this.

"Wake up, or I will tickle you Kurokami-chan!" says Misaki, still shaking Kurokami.

Once she heard this, Kurokami suddenly has a burst of energy to stop Misaki before she starts to tickle her, as she never has been tickled yet and does not want to now.

"O-okay Misaki-chan!" Kurokami says struggling not to laugh. "Please do no tickle me!"

Misaki laughs even more from Kurokami trying to speak as she almost cannot stop giggling. She wanted to just tickle Kurokami, wanting to hear the shy girl's laughter, but she does not and complies with Kurokami's request. As she stops, she sees Kurokami sit up with her black hair so messy from the shaking she received. Misaki covers her mouth with her hands, trying not to laugh so loud from the sight of the crazy looking hair in front of her eyes.

"What's so funny Misaki-chan?" asks Kurokami confused.

Misaki points towards Kurokami's hair, giggling with glee. Kurokami feels the messy hair that she has and blushes, not having anyone see herself in such a morning mess.

'_I keep thinking this, but Kurokami-chan looks so cute when she is embarrassed._' thinks Misaki to herself. '_Even cuter when she just woke up!_'

As Misaki thinks to herself, Kurokami asks her a question saying,

"Well, since you got my hair like this, could you kindly brush my hair Misaki-chan?"

Once Misaki stops thinking to herself, she nods back in reply and says back to Kurokami,

"Of course I will Kurokami-chan! Though, I bet your hair was already like that from a sweet dream possible, hmm?"

Misaki then winks towards Kurokami in a teasing manner, hinting at some more possible teasing remarks. Kurokami then blushes from what Misaki said, for she remembers that she did have a dream. Though for some reason, it was about Misaki.

'_Why did I have a dream about her?_' ponders Kurokami. '_I mean, it was just her and the way she looked at me when I was on the tour and inside her literature class. Why a dream like that?_'

As Kurokami stops thinking about her dream of Misaki, she walks over to her desk at the end of her bed and sits down, waiting for Misaki to get a brush. Misaki grabs a brush of her own and starts to brush Kurokami's messy hair gently.

"I did not know your hair could get this messy Kurokami-chan." says Misaki in a giggling tone of voice. "It almost makes you look completely different!"

"Well because it was your fault to make it like this." replies Kurokami. "So you can thank yourself for this."

Both girls laugh a little from what has been said, remembering the fun they had just a little bit earlier.

"I will tickle you one day Kurokami-chan..hehe." says Misaki in a sinister sounding voice.

Kurokami almost laughs once again and also says,

"Maybe, maybe not Misaki-chan."

As Misaki was done brushing her roommate's hair, Kurokami starts to get ready for the day ahead of her. While dressing into her uniform, she still cannot seem to get the thought of her dream of Misaki out of her mind. Staying in her thoughts, trying to figure out exactly why or the purpose of that one specific dream. Thinking of Misaki only as a friend to herself, she is almost questioning a feeling that she rarely had before. Could Kurokami has feelings of a best friend? Or something else she is questioning? Misaki, who was also dressing and getting ready, was thinking of some thoughts similar to Kurokami. Ever since seeing Kurokami in literature, she has thought of her as a nice girl that can be fun to be around. Though, since Kurokami is mostly a shy, quiet girl, Misaki thinks she could help her be accustomed to with the Strawberry Dorms and really get to learn about her. Knowing about the girl that is her first roommate since being at St. Miator has had Misaki thinking that it can help herself and Kurokami so much. Having any awkward moments of no talking is something Misaki does not want to happen at all, for she wants to have a fun time with Kurokami. Fun time as friends? Or could it be more like another feeling ordeal? Something like this, a thought, running through her mind is questioning Misaki. Even though she knows that her and Kurokami have said to each other that being friends already was not too fast, could having another feeling be fast in time wrong? Misaki has always complimented her friends on how pretty they are and also teasing for fun like usual, she feels like Kurokami is different in a sense that she has qualities she possesses that Misaki has not interacted with. A beauty that she has not seen before from just a friend, but someone of interest. Just pondering these things about Kurokami makes Misaki a little confused, but at the same time, interested. Both Kurokami and Misaki, thinking about each other's friendships and interest of one another, have been in complete silence during their preparation for the day. The silence was not awkward for them, as they both figured out that they were in deep thought, but did not know what the other was exactly thinking about. The thoughts of how these feelings inside have grown in such a short amount of time runs through both of their minds, like their hearts beating in such a constant rhythm.

'_Are my possible feelings for her..too fast to express?_' both girls think to themselves as they wonder if their feelings are true or not.

As Kurokami and Misaki finish preparing, they look at one another. Misaki, who wants to break the silence, says to Kurokami,

"So, are you ready for your official first day Kurokami-chan?"

"Yes I am." replies Kurokami. "It is nice to know that I have you to talk to in our literature class."

As Kurokami smiles in a shy manner, Misaki smiles from what she has been told. She then replies back to Kurokami saying,

"I am delighted to hear that! To have my first roommate in a class of mine is a good thing, especially when she is a new friend of mine!"

Kurokami almost blushes, but holds back because of Misaki possibly teasing her again.

"Shall we head off Kurokami-chan?" Misaki asks.

Kurokami nods slowly nods and follows Misaki as she walks out of the door. Once they started walking, Kurokami comes up with the memory of when she arrived at Astraea Hill and hearing the talk about the Étoile selection. She remembers that this topic has led most of the attention away from her transfer to St. Miator, how almost every girl did not even realize the addition of a new girl. Pondering through this, she quickly says to Misaki,

"Um, Misaki-chan?"

"Yes Kurokami-chan?" says Misaki back to Kurokami. "Is something wrong at all?"

"Oh Nothing at all." replies Kurokami. "I was just wondering..what is this 'Étoile' selection I keep hearing about? I do not know what it is about."

Misaki is almost surprised to hear that Kurokami not knowing about the famous selection of Astraea Hill, but she is reminded of the fact that her shy friend is a new student. She then starts to explain to Kurokami saying,

"The Étoile competition or election is a selection of a couple from either St. Miator, St, Spica, or St. Lulim, that will represent the three schools together. The Étoile couple has certain responsibilities like participating in certain important events, greeting new students of Astraea Hill, leading the schools in prayer for dinner, and also being a sort of median or mediator for the student council members of the three schools. Before the events of selection, the couples from the three schools shall be chosen to represent the school they are attending. Once this is finalized, there is a special ceremony held for the couples, where they will announce their loyalty to one another, protecting and holding their bond together no matter what. Needless to say, it is quite romantic!"

"Oh my, that does sound like it is." says Kurokami suddenly, blushing from the thought of a couple pronouncing their loyalty to each so passionately.

"Indeed it is Kurkami-chan!" says Misaki, then continues to explain saying, "Now then, there are three events held to compete for the three chosen couples. Theses events will show the loyalty and commitment the couples have to their partner with love and compassion. Two couples will advance to the final event, where one will be chosen as the Étoile of Astraea Hill. It is such an amazing time for all three schools, as the weather for spring arrives and finding out who will represent the unity of Astraea Hill."

Kurokami is in such awe in her mind of such an event that is about to happen. She understands why many of the girls here are in such excitement for the Étoile election, which led to the unnoticed attention of herself arriving at Astraea Hill and St. Miator.

"I now understand why I have been barely noticed here." says Kurokami with a doleful expression on her face, remembering herself not expecting any attention before she arrived at Astraea Hill. Misaki notices Kurokami's comment and expression and says to her,

"Do not say that Kurokami-chan! I noticed you in literature class, did I not?"

Misaki and Kurokami stop walking in a hall they were moving through. Kurokami looks over to Misaki, who was looking back with a serious but smiling face. She was right, Misaki did notice Kurokami as they looked at one another across the classroom, gazing at each others sight. Kurokami smiles, remembering the notice of attention she wanted to expect from someone.

"You are right Misakii-chan, you did notice me." Kurokami says replying to Misaki.

Misaki smiles back, reassuring herself of helping her friend remember that moment in time. After exchanges of smiles and remembrance of one another, they continue to their literature class and arrive a few moments later.

At the entrance of the room, Misaki says to Kurokami,

"Remember Kurokami-chan, I am here for you and that you have a friend that did notice you. I will help you out whenever I can in our class as well!"

Kurokami smiles once again to hear such uplifting words from Misaki, feeling much better then when she was remembering the depressing thoughts of loneliness.

"Thank you very much Misaki-chan." says Kurokami gratefully.

Misaki walks over and gives Kurokami a loving hug. Kurokami hugs her back, feeling her warmth as Misaki feels Kurokami's warmth as well. Once both girls stopped hugging, they enter their literature class together. During the class time, Misaki quietly asks Kurokami,

"Have you been to the 'Secret Garden' Kurokami-chan?"

"Secret garden?" Kurokami questions confused. "What is it?"

"The Secret Garden is a place where lovers secretly meet and bond in the quiet, dark rooms together." explains Misaki with a quick wink.

"Aren't gardens supposed to be bright and lit up for the plants inside?" Kurokami asks in great confusion.

Misaki almost bursts out laughing, but holds her breath to stop. She takes a deep breath and giggles saying,

"If you consider books flowers, then maybe."

"What do you mean Misaki-chan?" Kurokami asks.

"Well the Secret Garden is actually the main library of Astraea Hill." Misaki explains further. "Surely Miyuki-sama has at least mentioned it on your tour?"

Now that Misaki mentions this, Kurkami does remember Miyuki mentioning a library that was here on Astraea Hill during her tour, but they did not explore it.

"Actually, she has mentioned it, but we did not visit it." says Kurokami. "But she only called it the library. Is it such a secret between only a few student here?"

"Not at all!" replies Misaki. "Almost all of the girls of the three schools know about the other name for the library. Miyuki-sama was probably being formal and not giving away the other name of the library."

"Ah, I see." says Kurokami in understanding. "So I am guessing that you want to show me the library then Misaki-chan?"

Misaki nods in response saying,

"Exactly, right after our class!"

Once the rest of Kurokami's and Misaki's literature class ends, the two girls start to head towards the secret garden of Astraea Hill. As they are walking, Misaki also shows Kurokami the spacious, open areas of trees all around the hill. The vast amount of land has led Kurokami into a look of awe in wonder at how serene and beautiful the areas were around the schools. She has not realized the size of this are before she arrived at Astraea Hill, but now was seeing it with her own eyes. As Kurokami's eyes were exploring, her and Misaki were approaching the main library of St. Miator that was almost filled with girls inside. Kurokami then looks at the building in front of her, marveling at the sight of a dark, peaceful library of books and secret love.

"Here is the Secret Garden Kurokami-chan!" says Misaki as she leads Kurokami inside.

By the main entrance, there were not many students. Most were scattered around the rest of the library, reading or doing other 'activities' that were out of sight.

"Wow, it is so quiet." whispers Kurokami. "But I have to say, it is so dark."

"That is why it can be so peaceful." whispers Misaki in reply. "Some of the natural light of the sun and peaceful quietness makes this a popular place for many students."

As Kurokami kept studying the layout of the library, she notices some girls that were awfully close to one another, enjoying themselves with some kissing and holding. As a result of seeing, Kurokami blushes from the sight of such tender love in front of her.

"Oh my..y-you were right about the 'secret' meetings Misaki-chan." says Kurokami in a nervous tone of voice.

"Of course I am." replies Misaki. "I would not exactly lie to you Kurokami-chan."

Once Misaki finished saying this, the voice of a young St. Miator student, named Chiyo Tsukidate, was heard saying,

"Hello, I am Chiyo Tsukidate, first year of St. Miator! Are you two looking for any particular books to read?"

Misaki and Kurokami were a little startled by the sudden greeting of the small, young student, but then Misaki says back saying,

"Oh, we are not exactly here for books. I am showing my fellow friend and roommate where the library is located since she just transferred her. Her name is Kurokami Nakamura, and I am Misaki Matsumato, both fourth year students."

"Ah I see." says Chiyo in reply. "Well it is nice to meet you both. Welcome to St. Miator Kurokami-chan!"

Kurokami smiles softly and says back to Chiyo in a shy tone of voice,

"Th-thank you Chiyo-chan." She was also still blushing from seeing the sight of the couples in the library, being so close together.

Misaki now notices the red face of Kurokami, how much she has been surprised to see the vast amount of romantic moments taking place. She then turns to Kurokami and whispers to her saying,

"Is someone feeling a little warm, huh?"

Kurokami then nods her head slowly, agreeing to the question. Misaki playfully giggles at the sight of the blushing face of Kurokami.

"Well, we can leave since you just cannot handle the sight of romantic affection yet at the Secret Garden, hehe."

Kurokami wanted to stick her tongue out at Misaki, but she then felt like it would embarrass herself even more. So as her and Misaki start to leave the library, both say their goodbyes to Chiyo, who also says goodbye in her happy tone of voice. Once the two girls were outside, Misaki asks Kurokami,

"So, would you like to return back to the Strawberry Dorms Kurokami-chan?"

Kurokami, who was now not blushing as much from a couple of minutes ago, yawns and replies saying,

"Yes, that would be good."

"Then let us continue walking, my dear friend!" says Misaki.

During the walk, Kurokami continues to survey the wonderful areas of Astraea Hill with her tired eyes, thinking about how beautiful it is. While walking, she also looks at Misaki from the corner of her eyes, thinking to herself,

'_I am glad that I transferred to such a wonderful place..becoming friends with a wonderful and beautiful girl that is almost..the complete opposite of me._

_Wait..don't opposites attract to one another?_'

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Author Note: Thank you very much for reading chapter 3 of my second Fan Fiction story! Please feel free to review and give feedback that can help with publishing future chapters as needed! =)


	4. Heart of Misunderstanding

Update Note: I am terribly sorry for not updating this story after a long time! It's good to write again after the few weeks of not writing anything, so I am back! This chapter is pretty short compared to the first three, but I do hope you enjoy reading it! The future chapters will be longer and in more detail!

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**Chapter #4 - Heart of Misunderstanding**

A bright light shines over the hill of the Strawberry Dorms, with birds singing their tune of morning, marking the start of a new day. In this new day, Kurokami lays in her bed quietly, pondering about the free day she has ahead of her. No worries of class and schedules, she feels like laying in her bed all day to just relax and think to herself about the days of being here in Astraea Hill. Wanting to also think about Misaki, how the two of them became sudden friends, being opposites in emotion and actions, and how feelings toward Misaki have changed; from more than a friend to a feeling of love and compassion. A feeling that makes Kurokami want to just think to herself all day, but also having such negative thoughts of misunderstanding about Misaki and herself. Those future thoughts of sadness and predictions that overwhelm Kurokami has led to point where she feels alone, like before in her previous place of home. Alone and sad to herself, thinking of the past that might be almost appearing again in the present, Kurokami sighs multiple times while she still lays down in her bed. She peeks over to the empty bed across from her, thinking about what Misaki is doing at this point in time. Earlier during the same morning, Misaki was ready for her day of being with the poetry club she was in. She tried to tell Kurokami about her plans, but realized that she was still in bed under her blanket. Thinking that Kurokami was still asleep, Misaki said out loud,

"See you later, dear Kurokami-chan."

Misaki did not even realize that Kurokami was already awake, hearing her preparing for her club meeting. Kurokami almost responds back to Misaki, wanting to wish her to have a good time, but she did not. At the time, she felt like it would have wasted Misaki's time. Even before this particular morning, during the week after Kurokami and Misaki were at the library, Kurokami started to feel like her emotions grew. Since Misaki was working on a poem for her club and not messing around with Kurokami like usual, Kurokami had time to organize and find her emotions of how she really felt about Misaki. Thinking through this made her feel at ease, but then a little sad. She felt like the first person she has ever had a loving feeling for, could not be together with her. When she came to the conclusion of having true feelings for Misaki, Kurokami felt so happy, never having this feeling of warmth and delight before in her heart. Having such a wonderful feeling inside is something she has never experienced, which makes her think of all the possibilities of wanting to be with Misaki. Though while she was thinking this, other thoughts raced through her mind. Thoughts of sadness and uncertainty have flooded her consciousness during these days of thinking. One particular set of thoughts has really made Kurokami think that she possibly could not be closer to Misaki, even though they are so close as friends. All these painful thoughts running through Kurokami's mind has led up to her saying in her bed, not moving at all when Misaki said her morning goodbye.

"Maybe I should have at least said something.." says Kurokami to herself. "But I just could not for some reason. We have not really spoken to each other for the past week like we usually do, with her working on a poem and then I thinking about my emotions about..Misaki-chan. How I felt so happy with accepting my thoughts about her, it felt so serene. Though..why do I keep thinking that Misaki..does not feel the same?" Kurokami sit up out of her blanket and stares down. Tears start to form and run down her cheeks.

"Why? Why am I thinking this when just two weeks ago, I was questioning about Misaki and her saying how beautiful and cute I am?" Kurokami then covers her face with her hands, trying so hard not to cry, as this brings up memories of her past years of living in northern Japan. Alone and quiet to herself, not talking to anyone, crying all by herself. As she still cover her face, she murmurs to herself saying,

"Maybe..she is just playing around me..just being friends and trying to help me be more outgoing, not having any feelings towards me like I have to her. The poem that she is writing..is probably for someone special here in the Strawberry Dorms..not for me. Though, when she does tell me about her love for that special someone, I must feel happy for her no matter what.."

Kurokami sniffles and starts to lightly cry, feeling alone once more. Throughout most of the day, she lays in her bed, pondering in her own thoughts, wondering what to do in her fleeting position. She has never felt this way ever since she was attending her previous school. It was also more impacting, more moving to her heart than ever before because of this emotion she has not expressed. Kurokami wanted to give up her feelings towards Misaki, even though past thoughts were different. A quiet, interpersonal girl who is in love, now trying to rid of this wonderful but painful emotion to not hurt herself anymore. Laying in bed, motionless in deep thought and unforeseen serenity, Kurokami just could not get Misaki out of her mind. A good friend who was the opposite of herself, now is the one that Kurokami accepted as her love, but her mind says different from her heart. Thinking that Misaki is only being a friend and nothing more makes Kurokami so sad in gloom. The feeling of gloom overwhelms her as she lays in her bed motionless, unable to have the energy to get up. As she quietly lays down still after hour going by, Misaki knocks on the dorm room saying,

"I am back Kurokami-chan!"

Just then, Kurokami peeks her head out of the bed blanket and blankly looks at the door, almost wanting to answer the door. She does not, and Misaki then walks into the dark room, blinds still closed and blocking the afternoon sunlight. Surprised to her and Kurokami's room still very dark, she asks Kurokami,

"It is such a beautiful day Kurokami-chan, why are the window covers still closed? Are you feeling okay?"

Kurokami looks up to Misaki and slowly nods, not wanting to have Misaki feel worried.

"Just felt like laying down today I am guessing?" asks Misaki in concern.

Kurokami again nods her head slowly in reply, also not wanting to tell Misaki the real reason why she was still laying in her bed.

"I understand then." says Misaki back to her quiet friend. "Though if you do not mind, I would like to open the covers to see what I am writing in my poem." Misaki then laughs a little, trying to lighten up the tension and silence in the room.

Kurokami very quietly responds saying,

"I have no problem with the covers open. I should get dressed out of my pajamas anyway."

"Ah, glad to see that you can still talk!" Misaki says as she teases Kurokami.

She expected Kurokami to respond to her teasing like usual, but Kurokami just got out of be silently and started to get dressed into her uniform without one word being said. Misaki is now a little concerned about Kurokami, for she notices the quiet tone her close friend had when she responded back just a bit ago.

'_There has to be something wrong._' Misaki thinks to herself. '_Kurokami-chan is usually not this quiet.._'

As she thought this, Misaki waits until Kurokami dressed herself into the uniform to open the covers and continue writing her poem. Kurokami, who looks tired from laying down for most of the morning, looks over to Misaki sitting down, ready to continue the poem she has been working on for the past week. Kurokami really wants to know her friend is writing; was it just a poem to show the poetry club? Or was it for someone she loves? As Kurokami was pondering these thoughts of curiosity, she asks Misaki a question saying,

"Misaki-chan..how is the poetry club going for you?"

"Oh, it is going very well for me!" replies Misaki enthusiastically. "I have been given tips on how I can improve my writing, which has helped tremendously. There is a girl named Suzumi Tamao, who gave us a presentation of her wonderful poem. I took mental notes on some of her line and phrases so I can make my own work better!"

"That is good to hear Misaki-chan." replies Kurokami. "I bet your current poem is wonderful to read. By the way, is your poem for the club? Or..someone special?" Misaki blushes from what Kurokami said, showing her that she right about the last part of what she has asked. It is for someone in the Strawberry Dorms, someone that she cannot speak of. Blushing, Miskai replies back saying,

"Um..yes, but it is a secret for now so i cannot tell you!"

Misaki then tries to lightly laugh to make the current situation less embarrassing for herself. Kurokami's expression changes to a sad, dissapointed look from hearing Misaki saying it was confidential. To hear that she is writing a poem for someone when Kurokami herself has accepted her thoughts and feelings of love towards Misaki makes her feel so disappointed. As Kurokami was thinking, she looks down in sadness, but also saying, "That is good Misaki-chan, I can not wait for you to show this special girl how you feel.." She says this to not let Misaki be concerned, for she wants her energetic and close friend to be happy with her feelings for the girl she loves. Happiness of her friend will keep Kurokami from going into complete sadness of deep thought and despair.

"Are you sure you feel fine Kurokami-chan?" Misaki asks concerningly.

"Yes, I feel fine Misaki-chan." replies Kurokami quietly. "Do not worry about me.."

She then tries to smile, trying to make herself look happy and not disappointed.

"Okay, if you say so." says Misaki and continues to write her poem in quietness, just as quiet as the past week of working on the special poem.

Kurokami, who felt like she was bothering Misaki, starts to walk out of the room, wanting to think to herself on a walk. Misaki notices and quickly asks Kurokami,

"Where are you heading off to Kurokami-chan?"

"Just..just on a little walk Misaki-chan." replies Kurokami nervously. "I will be back so do not worry and enjoy working on your poem.."

She then walks out of the door slowly and closes it behind her back. Misaki, still staring at the doorway, says to herself,

"There has to be something on Kurokami-chan's mind. She has not been this quiet since the day I met her. Well..I bet my little poem will make her feel much better when it is complete. She will be smiling and blushing like when I tease with her!"

Misaki giggles, remembering Kurokami blushing at the times she was teased or complimented.

"I feel..so happy that I have made my mind up on how I really feel towards Kurokami-chan." Misaki continues speaking. "When I first saw her, I was wanting to know Kurokami-chan more. She was so mysterious to me, a girl who was so silent and shy to herself that I felt like we would get along. Her and I are almost complete opposites, with me being so open and energetic, and her being so closed and relaxed to herself. I just then..had growing feelings for Kurokami-chan that were and now more than just considering her as a friend. How her blue eyes are like the water of a lake in a bright blue hue of color on a sunny day, and with her black, smooth hair both make a combination of looks that are so hard to look away. I may have teased other girls here at Astrea Hill that I had possible, special feelings for, but Kurokami-chan is different..so much different in an amazing way to me. I really do hope that she feels happy when she hears my poem being told to her, but..what if she does not feel same way back? What if this poem makes her feel awkward around me in the future and affect our friendship?"

Misaki then thinks more about the possible outcomes she might face when she has Kurokami hear the special poem she has been working on for the past week. Thinking about the outcomes, Misaki says to herself,

"No, I must let Kurokami-chan know about how I feel towards her no matter what! Even though she has not shown signs of the same feelings back towards me, I do not know for sure..I will find out when she returns!"

Misaki then starts to write the rest of her love and confession poem for Kurokami, eager to finish and show her accepted feelings of love and compassion.

Meanwhile, Kurokami is walking outside on the paths of Astraea Hill, thinking deeply in her mind.

'_I probably would have bothered Misaki-chan even more from her poem._' thinks Kurokami to herself. '_I needed go on a walk anyway to clear my mind of..possibly showing my true feelings to Misaki-chan..I will be negative to myself and not have my best friend feel worried. I have been keeping my thoughts and emotions to myself for all these years since I lived in northern Japan..and I guess I will keep doing that now.._'

Kurokami stops walking, feeling little droplets of rain falling on her face. She looks up to see the sudden dark clouds above her, gazing at the change of weather. Kurokami starts to tear up, thinking of the words she so wants to say to Misaki,

'_I love you..Misaki-chan..I love you more then a friend could.._'

Rain drops blend in with her tears, hiding the emotion of sadness, like her mind hiding her feelings of love for her dear friend Misaki-chan.

**-To be continued in Chapter 5-**

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Author Note: Thank you very much for reading chapter 4 of my second Fan Fiction story! Please feel free to review and give feedback that can help with publishing future chapters as needed! =)


	5. The Rainfall of Confessions

Quick Note: Sorry if this chapter feels like it is fast paced, I was working on this for a while and did not want to make it too slow to read. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter #5 - The Rainfall of Confessions**

"The poem is finished!" Misaki says with such excitement. She holds her completed poem close to her, for it is filled with the work of love and overflowing words of confessions that could possibly make Kurokami speechless. Misaki looks over at the windows in the room to see rain lightly falling outside, not noticing the change in weather before. It is like a shift in nature has led to this change in weather, like a change in a certain girls heart.

"I thought there would be no rain today. At least it was sunny earlier so today was not all gloomy and sad."

Misaki looks at her completed poem once more, studying all of the hard work she put into it. As she re-reads her poem, her eyes widen; surprised to only remember just now that Kurokami is still out on a walk and in the rain, wondering if she would return at any moment.

"I hope Kurokami-chan returns soon, I do not want her to be catching a cold.." says Misaki in concern. "Plus, I really want to show her the confession poem I wrote, to let my heart and emotions soar out to her and let her know how I feel towards her."

Misaki decides to wait, not wanting to leave yet when Kurokami could possibly come through the door at any moment while she would be looking for her. Minutes pass, ticking by in silence and deep serenity, making Misaki more and more nervous for her quiet caring friend. After more minutes pass by and rain still falling outside, Misaki stands up and takes a deep breath, worrying about Kurokami.

'_I must go find her, she just cannot be outside in the rain and not come back!_'

She then grabs her umbrella that was by the door with her poem folded in her other hand.

'_I have to find her now!_'

Misaki then leaves the room, walking to find her best friend, the friend she loves.

Outside, in the light rainfall, Kurokami is drenched in water from not only the rain, but also from tears. She sits under a tree by one of the paths that wind around Astraea Hill, trying to stay out of the rain. All the walking and crying has made Kurokami exhausted, not wanting to return to her room yet. She also does not want to return because of Misaki, thinking that she would be very worried and upset.

"I..just cannot bring myself to go back yet." says Kurokami out loud. "She maybe writing her poem still, so I probably should not bother her as her work means so much to her heart."

She then takes a deep breath, trying to catch her breath from being tired, wanting to just lay down in her bed and forget about her intentions of telling Misaki how she feels, how she loves her. Kurokami wipes her face to make it dry from the tears and rain, but also wishing for the rain to stay and hide her tears of unwanted sadness. As she sits under the tree, Misaki is not too far away now, looking for her dear roommate and friend.

'_I have to find her.._' thinks Misaki. '_I have to see if she is alright and tell her my desperate feelings to her!_' A few minutes pass by and Misaki stops walking, taking a break to think where Kurokami could possibly be.

'_She could not have gone far, at least not away from Astraea Hill completely._'

She looks up to see the church chapel of the three schools a few yards away from her.

'_I wonder if she took shelter in there?_'

Just then, she hears a faint sound of crying on the side of the path she was on. Misaki looks over a bush and finds a dark haired girl sitting under a tree, eyes slowly leaking with tears and sadness. It was Kurokami, wet from rain and sadness, crying from thinking of the girl that was looking right at her.

"Kurokami-chan!" Misaki says as she runs to Kurokami.

She drops her umbrella and hugs her friend, almost ready to cry from knowing that Kurokami is safe.

"Oh Kurokami-chan, I thought you were hurt as you were walking in the cold rain!" Misaki says relieved. "Why did you not return when it started to rain?"

Kurokami was so shocked from Misaki finding her that she could not answer, not even thinking before that Misaki was looking for her, worried so much about her quiet friend. As the two girls were still under the tree, the rain started to come down faster. Realizing this, Misaki stops hugging Kurokami and says to her,

"We have to take shelter Kurokami-chan, let us go into the chapel until the rain lightens up again. We do not want to be catching a cold as well."

She then helps Kurokami stand up and guides her under her umbrella she brought.

'_Why is Misaki-chan helping me?_' Kurokami thinks in confusion. '_Did she not want to finish her special poem?_'

As she was thinking, her and Misaki entered the quiet chapel, where the sound of rain echoes through the vast sanctuary of emptiness. Both girls then sat in one of the rows of pews, catching their breaths from the walks they took. Once Misaki does catch her breath, she immediately turns to Kurokami, who was still in a state of slight mental shock from Misaki finding her in the rain, and asks her,

"Kurokami-chan, why did you not return to our dorm room when it started to rain? Why did you go on such a long walk without letting me know? Please answer me.."

Kurokami slowly looks over to her worried friend, feeling puzzled and in need of answers from how she did not come back once it started to rain. She then builds up the motivation to explain why she just did not come back and says,

"Misaki-chan, the reason why I did not return is..is because I wanted to think more about certain things.."

"There has to be more than that!" says Misaki suddenly. "More as in, there must be something wrong. Please tell me the whole truth Kurokami-chan about why you have been so quiet and nervous towards me..and..why you were crying just a little bit ago.."

Kurokami now feels like she is cornered to where she cannot come up with an excuse as to why she has been more quiet than usual in front of Misaki. She takes a deep breath, ready to explain everything to her dear, caring friend and says,

"I..the reason why I have been more quiet than usual is because I noticed that were so focused on your poem and so we did not talk as much as we used to, so I did not want to bother you. The reason why I was crying earlier was because..because.."

"Yes Kurokami-chan?" says Misaki in concern, wanting to hear what Kurokami was going to say.

Kurokami takes a deep breath and continues explaining,

"I was crying because I was thinking that you would not want to be closer than friends with me!"

"What do you mean Kurokami-chan?" says Misaki in slight confusion.

"What I mean is that..I love you Misaki-chan! More than just as a friend!" Kurokami says as she lets out her mind and heart with overflowing confessions.

"You are such a beautiful, loving friend that I am so thankful for, a friend that I wanted to be closer with just recently. But..then I have been thinking that you would not want to be closer than that. I was saying to myself that you were only teasing me about how beautiful I am for fun and no more, and that a girl who is almost the exact opposite me will only want a different kind of girl..a girl who you would relate to..which I still feel like you do. This led me into thinking about the poem you have been writing and how that poem could be for someone special and close to you, a girl that you could confess your love to so dearly. All this in turn has led me to today, where I wanted to take a long walk and try to not think about you and not hurt myself even more..and let you be happy with whoever you loved here at the Strawberry Dorms. No matter what, I will be happy for you.."

Misaki was completely speechless from what she just heard, surprised in such disarray. She wanted to let her heart and emotions out to Kurokami and show her that she is wrong with her assumptions about her friend that loves her the same way. Misaki does not, for she remembers the poem she finished is still in one of her hands from grabbing it before she left to look for Kurokami. Misaki slowly hands Kurokami the poem she has been writing for the past week, with a lot of work and emotion put into it during that time.

"Please..read it out loud Kurokami-chan. I want to hear your voice reading these words I have written." says Misaki as she looks towards the ground, waiting for her friend to read the confession she wrote just for her. Shocked and in such nervousness, Kurokami reads the poem that she wanted to know so much about from her roommate.

"High above the sky in my heart, I see a shining star. A star that looks like it has strayed from a far. The star I want to call my own, for this star looks so alone in space above, the space of my heart. I reach up and try so hard to grasp it, not ever wanting to quit. I get closer and closer to find out that it is a special heart of a certain someone. And so quickly and desperately, I make my decision. The decision of loving this special star more than as a friend. A love that is too much for myself to comprehend, it puts me in a feeling of such bliss and dreaminess. I feel like waiting to tell this beautiful girl about how I love her, but I should not wait as I am very sure, that I love you Kurokami-chan."

Once Kurokami finishes reading Misaki's poem, she is blushing so much that her face turns completely red in color, like a ripe strawberry. She could not believe that the poem was all for her, a personal confession that she was not expecting at all. All day she thought Misaki could never possibly have the same feelings back, the feeling of love that Kurokami has not experienced from someone throughout her whole life. Now she is in the moment that she has secretly wanted to be in with Misaki, a moment of relief and happiness that could not be described with words, but with actions and thoughts. Kurokami's mind is in such a faze, for she has always had thoughts of negativity and self-disappointment that could never be put down and let go, but now her mind can believe the feeling of love for the first time. While the thoughts of happiness and slight confusion fly threw Kurokami's mind, Misaki smiles and says to her,

"It is true Kurokami-chan. I do love you, like you said the same to me just now. When you said those special words, all I could do was hand you the poem with no words to say for myself, as the poem will show what I mean. This is my confession to you, a short but special poem that I thought through so much, wanting to make it special and this shows you that I wanted to be closer than friends as well! Do not think that I did not want to be, it devastated me when you said you thought I was only teasing you for fun when I actually was hinting around about you and I. I really do not know what happened before in your life to make you think in such a depressing manner, but I want to help you think more positively now by letting you know..that I love you!"

Misaki then hugs Kurokami, giving her the embrace of compassion and remembrance of her love to the shy, close girl. As the two girls hug, Kurokami begins to tear up, feeling so sorry for having such a misunderstanding of the love she did not see in Misaki.

"I am s..so sorry Misaki-chan!" says Kurokami in tears. "My mind was just so confused and misunderstood by the actions and feelings you were expressing that I thought you had special feelings for someone else in the Strawberry Dorms. Again, I am terribly sorry Misaki-chan!"

Misaki hugs Kurokami a little tighter, letting her know that it is okay.

"You do not have to say sorry anymore Kurokami-chan." Misaki says in a comforting tone of voice. "I now understand and see why you have been thinking like this today and when you felt distant to me, so please be assured by this moment of embrace."

Just by saying this makes Kurokami feel much better than before, being in the arms of her friend that she loves so much and having an understanding of herself and how she can express her feelings to Misaki. Feelings being let out of her heart make her feel so relaxed and happy, also helping her feel warm in Misaki's arms.

'_She feels so warm.._' thinks Kurokami to herself. '_I could just be in her arms forever and ever..not having a care in the world, but only to be with Misaki-chan._'

As she thought this to herself, Misaki ends their hug and suddenly gives Kurokami a light kiss on one of her cheeks and smiles very slightly. This in turn makes Kurokami blush so much to where she covers her face with her hands, feeling so embarrassed but happy at the same time. Misaki notices this and lightly laughs a little, not seeing this reaction from Kurokami since the previous week when she started to write her poem and when they started to not talk as much as before.

"That's the Kurokami-chan I have wanted to see!" says Misaki in excitement and glee. "Did you like that kiss, hmm?"

Kurokami, who was still blushing profusely, nods her head while she also smiles behind the cover of hands.

"I am happy to see that!" says Misaki. "I am always thrilled to see you happy, it is like a gift to me to see and enjoy my friend's happiness."

Kurokami was so moved by the words Misaki has just said that she opens her mouth in reaction. She stops herself from doing this and says out loud,

"You have made me speechless Misaki-chan, I feel special for hearing that from you."

"I am happy to hear that Kurokami-chan!" replies Misaki as she smiles more. "I myself feel special to know such a unique girl like you."

"Ah stop it Misaki-chan!" says Kurokami in a nervous tone of voice. "You are going to make me blush again!"

Misaki giggles lightly and replies saying,

"Aww, well I love it when I make you blush Kurokami-chan! You are just so cute to me!"

Both girls smile at each other, feeling so happy to hear the words of compliments and love passing by them. As they smile, they also hear the rain that is still coming down over Astraea Hill and realize that it will be getting late into the afternoon and that they should return to their room soon.

"Kurokami-chan, I think we should leave before it gets too dark outside." says Misaki in concern.

"Yes, I agree Misaki-chan." replies Kurokami as she checks the time.

Once she was done, Misaki grabs her umbrella that she left by the chapel entrance and waits for Kurokami.

"Shall we leave, my dear Kurokami-chan?" asks Misaki eagerly.

"Yes Misaki-chan."

Both girls smile once more and step outside, where the rain has lightened up from earlier, signaling the movement of change in the air. As the two girls started walking, Misaki puts her arm around Kurokami, having her walk close together so they can both be under the umbrella. Kurokami smiles as she feels Misaki's warmth being held close to her side, feeling so much better. In her hands is the poem she was given earlier, perfectly folded to last and be read later on.

'_I cannot express how much happiness I am feeling right now._' thinks Kurokami to herself. '_I am so happy to have told Misaki-chan how I feel towards her, and then having her say the same thing towards me..it is just pure bliss._'

She then smiles from thinking about her and Misaki and rests her head on her partner's shoulder as they walk, which in turn makes Misaki smile in comfort to have her loving best friend in her embrace beside her. As Kurokami and Misaki approach the Strawberry Dorms, the rain slowly stops flowing down, signaling the end of the dark weather, also showing the signs of Kurokami's tears that have stopped flooding down. Happy to have poured out their confessions in tenderness and love, the loving friends walk together, side to side and heart to heart in warmth.

* * *

Author Note: Thank you very much for reading chapter 5 of my second Fan Fiction story! Please feel free to review and give feedback that can help with publishing future chapters as needed! =)


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